Monday, August 31, 2015

Cover Reveal : Love & War by Charisse Spiers


 (Shadows in the dark, #2)

Author: Charisse Spiers


Illustrator: Clarise Tan @ CT Cover Creations
Cover Model: Andrew England as Kross Brannon
Cover Model: Isabella "Bella" Frayne as Delta Rohr
Photographer (Front Cover, Andrew): Golden Czermak @ Furious Fotog
Photographer (Back Cover, Bella): Darren Birks @ Darren Birks Photography



The fucking lights. They are all I can remember. Everywhere I turn I see them. They haunt my dreams, and now my reality. She liked the lights. I do remember that. It was part of her life, and in turn a part of mine, until the day I forgot it all.

Weapons. Big or small, they can be anything I need them to be. Unlike people in my life, they are predictable, dependable. Without any effort they can cause so much destruction. Touching them they are slick, smooth, and silent when I demand it. Who wouldn’t find them beautiful?

Ink. I’ve loved it since I can remember. It defines me. It’s my release. When I feel like I’m about to blow I turn to the needle. It is the only high I need. I brand people. It’s what I do. Kross Brannon is the best there is when it comes to tattoos. My company proves it.

I never teach. Those that work for me learn from someone else. I work solo. Always have and always will…but then I looked up and saw her, standing in my fucking shop, beautiful, tattooed, and her soul screaming for me to reach out.

That’s the moment everything started falling into place…

I’ve waited my whole life for this moment. Nothing and no one will stand in my way now. I want to be pissed at her, but she’s just given me everything I’ve fucking dreamed of since I was a kid. He’s giving me a chance. I will not let him down.

But then he touched me.

My entire life I’ve been cold, but now a spark has ignited and I’m starting to warm. What does this mean? He can’t know my secrets. It could ruin everything. I want him, but I’ll never give in. The tug of war inside will never defeat what I want. I don’t care how raw my hands become from the rope. Delta Rohr has never fallen for a man, and I don’t intend to start now.

Most like to think that love and war will never entwine, leaving the two paths separate, but sometimes to find the one worth fighting for you must enter into war. The infamous question will always remain: all is fair in love and war? Will it always be a myth or will they find out?



My eyes travel from his lips back to his eyes, locking into place. I hook my thumbs behind the front waistband of my shorts, giving them a prop to avoid an awkward stance, before going for the introduction I couldn't muster last night. "I'm Delta Rohr, the girl that's going to be one of the best in a man's world. Ink is my life. I wear my portfolio on my body. I'm an artist, only I want my canvas to be skin. I want my artwork to be worn. I've wanted an opportunity like this for a long time, and I'll give up anything to get it, but I need the tools to get there. I need the best fucking mentor there is. I need you, Kross."

He remains staring at me while my intestines start twisting into knots, saying nothing at all. Maybe my answer wasn't adequate enough. I'm not sure if I should say anything else or leave it at that. His stance finally breaks and his arms rise and fold over his head, his hands gripping the back collar of his shirt. He pulls it over his head, baring his torso a few inches at a time until it's completely off. Oh hell. His body looks better without clothes than with. He obviously works out, his chiseled form confirming it. Let's not forget the ink spread across his chest and running down both arms. The lower part of his sleeves and the ink that peeks out of his collar, running up part of his neck, is the only thing I've noticed until now. Now that he's standing here shirtless. He tosses the shirt over his shoulder, freeing up his hands.

"What are you doing?"

I immediately notice the silver, square, belt buckle in a dull metal finish, cut out to form a raised skull in the center; my favorite emblem, and the masculine opposite to mine...exactly what he tattooed on my body last night, complete with a pink hair bow. The black, elastic band of his briefs is peeking out of the waistband of his jeans. He works to unbuckle his belt, letting each end hang, before going back for the button. He pops it through the slit and then slides down the zipper, revealing the royal blue underwear hugging his hips. My eyes widen. Is he stripping up here? What the hell is he doing? 

"Kross, what are you doing?" I ask again, needing an answer. My heart rate is beating faster with each movement he makes. 

"Starting part two."

"Which is?" I'm becoming nervous. Is he just using me for sex? Dammit, I feel so stupid. I actually thought this was a real interview. I should have known this was just a setup. 

"Letting you tattoo my body."

I regain focus. "Say what?"

"I don't repeat myself. Listen the first time." He pushes the band of his underwear down his body, along with the waist of his jeans, leaving them not far above his...

"It's kind of hard to listen with you stripping naked. You're a guy and I'm a girl. It's human nature to look. So sue me."

He grabs me by the arm and pulls me toward his station. "The second part of this interview is to see you give it a shot. To me, tattooing is a natural talent. It takes more than the ability to trace an object to be a good tattooer. An artist is well rounded in all areas: drawing, tracing, visualizing, shading, design and color, all while having a steady hand. You may be good at drawing with a pencil, but it's a little more difficult with a vibrating gun in your hand puncturing the skin hundreds of times per minute. I'm not wasting my time to make shit more pleasant. I'm making great, flawless."

He releases my arm and steps over the chair in a straddling stance, drawing my attention to his black, high-top Converse shoes matching my pink ones, before grabbing a thin sheet of paper off the counter space. My nerves are on overdrive now. "I've already drawn you out a design that matches the one I tattooed on your pelvis last night, minus the fucking bow. It's a pretty simple design but a good one. Basic skull and crossbones fit my personality so I'll deal with it on my body. Wouldn't be the first version anyway, but since this is your first it's going somewhere I can cover up if you fuck it up. My sleeves are sacred, my masterpieces. Only the best adds to it. You earn the right to leave your mark as an artist there."

He pushes his pants down some more, until the top half of his firm ass is bare. If he pushes them down any further I'll be able to see his dick. Without breaking he applies the transfer of ink from paper to skin below his waistline, and low enough he can cover it by simply buttoning his pants. He cannot possibly expect me to give him a tattoo that close to his dick. Come on.... 

He grabs a pair of black, latex gloves off the tray. It looks like everything is already setup. "If you want to be the best in a man's world, then you better be serious as fuck about learning and perfecting. There are some that have made it and done so well, but tattooing has always been a man's art. I'm not showing you how to setup or prep today, because that's not necessary before you get the job. I looked at your ability to draw when I looked at your body last night. I want to see technique. I'm a hands on learner so that's how I teach. You have about a two-hour window. All of my artists will be here at three today. That gives me time to clean up after you're done."

"So you let everyone interview this way? How do you have any blank skin left?"

A smirk begins to form. "Nope. You're the first. I don't normally teach."

My nerves were at a good five. They were just bumped to ten. "Uh, then why me?"

"I'm feeling giving I guess." He hands me the gloves and sits down on the chair, then laces his hands behind his head and leans back against the back of the chair. "Tattoo me." 

I am totally and inevitably fucked...




I found books when I was going through a hard time in life. They became my means of escape when things got bad. I realized quickly how much I loved to take a backseat to someone else's life and watch the journey unfold. That began my journey with books in November of 2012. I constantly had a book open on my Kindle app. Never in a million years would I have imagined myself as a writer, because I never thought I was creative enough. I'm living proof that things will fall into place when they're meant to be. People will make their way into our lives when we don't expect it, setting the path for what we are meant to do. Never give up on people. Never stop taking a chance on others. Someone took a chance on trusting me with her work when she didn't know me from a stranger on the street and gave me the opportunity of a lifetime as our relationship progressed, which led me to editing and writing as well. This is my dream I never knew I had. As soon as I sat down and gave writing a shot, it was like the floodgates opened. Now, I am lost in a world of fiction in my head, new characters constantly screaming for their stories to be told. Continue to dream and to go for them. No one ever found happiness by sitting on the sidelines. Sometimes we have to take risks and put ourselves out there. Thank you for all of your support, and may there be many books to come. XOXO- C 

   















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Monday, August 24, 2015

Cover Reveal: Twenty One by Clarissa Wild





Title: Twenty-One (21)
Author: Clarissa Wild
Publication Date: October 7th, 2015
Genre: Dark Romance (18+)
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25143793-twenty-one

Synopsis

21 years
On her 21st birthday she’s taken. Collected by a rich family as an unpaid debt. Her body sold. Her mind his.
21 weeks
For 21 weeks she carried a burden no girl should ever have to carry. Now she loses her freedom to a man born to destroy her.
21 days
His name: Angel DeLuca. His mission: to break her in 21 days before she sees through his lies. But she won’t give up without a fight.
21 minutes
It takes only 21 minutes for their lives to be forever entwined.
21 seconds
21 seconds to spill. Time is running out.

Secrets ruin them … but not all truths are worth the price.

This is a STANDALONE Dark Romance novel. WARNING: contains explicit situations, dubious consent, graphic violence, drug abuse, and other disturbing content.



Exclusive preorder on: iBooks




Excerpt:

(Copyright 2015 Clarissa Wild. Unedited. Subject to change.)

Day 1


Sky


A never-ending darkness shrouds me, the surrounding void like space, swallowing me whole. Eyes open or eyes shut, it doesn’t make a difference to the vast emptiness around me. It seeps into my bones like poison, clouding my mind from the memories that I had.
Where am I?
My body feels cold, and my limbs solid, like they’re not mine. I notice myself breathing, however. The only thing I hear is the steady, rhythmic beating of my heart. The only sound in this dark hole. Thud, thud … thud.
For a moment I doubt my own existence.
Who am I, even?
A drop of water falling onto a surface pulls me back into reality. I’m here, but how?
My fingers tighten and relax in an attempt to regain control. My muscles feel stiff, but slowly the sensation is returning to the tips of my fingers, giving me a small bit of hope that I might find out what happened to me.
With slow movements, I let my hand slide only a few inches, but it’s enough to determine that I’m lying on a concrete floor. My head begins to hurt and every passing second the pain increases. I move my fingers to my head and touch the back of my scalp. The searing pain stops me and tells me I’m wounded.
When I touch my face I gasp. There is a bag over my head with a hole near my mouth and nose through which I can breathe. For a second, I contemplate removing it, but then I realize they might be watching me.
A buzz moves through my body, bringing life back to my limbs. And even though I’m regaining my sense of touch, my vision is still impaired. However, my eyes feel fine as I touch them, so it must be the lack of light.
I push my elbows underneath me and lean up. A sudden queasiness overtakes me, causing me to buckle and heave. I puke on the floor beside me, which surprises me, because I hardly ever puke.
I tally up the sensations that I’m feeling. Nausea, loss of motor skills, buzzing nerves, botched memory … it all leads to one conclusion: I was drugged.
Stabilizing myself on the floor, I focus on regaining control over my body before moving again. This place is unfamiliar to me, and I dig into my mind to find clues as to how I ended up here. The pain that’s slowly creeping to the surface of my skin distracts me, but I still manage to catch a glimpse of a memory in the back of my mind.
Men with black masks and fire weapons dragging me out of a room. A cloth with a sharp odor pushed against my mouth. Drowsiness engulfing me. A big SUV, also black, doors sliding to the side. A blow to the back of my head. All lights went out.
My skin pricks with anxiety, and I shiver to shake off the fear. It doesn’t help, because I know deep down that there is more to come.
There is one question in my mind that can’t help but repeat itself. Why me?
This is the single question every victim of abduction asks.
Except, I already know the answer.
It was only a matter of time before they came for me.
My papa once told me that goodness always comes at a price. Now more than ever, do I realize the truth in his words. However, I don’t regret making the decision for even a second.
Now, I’m here in a darkness so deep it consumes me whole.
And still the light of rebellion sparks inside my heart, fueling a fire I haven’t felt before. An uncontrollable need to defy whoever is keeping me here.
But I will wait. Lying in the cold, harsh, emptiness of this space, I will await my captor’s arrival and take whatever he’s going to give me. Punishment. Pain. I’ll endure it all.
Because that’s what a good person does when they’ve made their choice.
They bear the burden of their choice, because it’s the only thing they can do.


***


I don’t know how many hours pass before a noise wakes me. I can’t remember when and how I fell asleep, but I must’ve been very tired from the ordeal. A metallic door is slid open, a crack of light splitting through the opening. The burlap bag over my head makes it difficult to see, but when I narrow my eyes and focus I can still determine where I am.
Only now do I see how small my cell really is.
The vast emptiness I thought would overwhelm me, turns out to be not much more than a bedroom-sized cell. A quick look at the walls reveals iron rings of all shapes and sizes, used to hook a chain around and snare whoever needs to be contained and subdued.
In other words; me.
Squinting, I watch as a man steps inside, and I focus solely on his presence. Even though the door is open, and freedom is luring me on the other side, I stay put and watch. No matter how much I’d try, I’d never be able to flee. Not like this, with my muscles weak and my body aching. There are probably a bunch of guards waiting outside, wondering whether I’m going to try anything.
So I won’t. I’ll sit right here on this cold, hard concrete, observing my captor as he walks into the room with a certain aloofness. His feet are bold, his body brawny, his face hiding behind a Guy Fawkes mask. If I weren’t so scared, I would’ve pondered why he chose that specific mask to conceal his identity, but now is not that time.
His footsteps sound more like sand scraping off a harsh surface as he circles around me like a snake ready to attack its prey. The door is left open like a silent seducer, a tool to entice me to run. I look up at my captor, giving him a deadly stare, and even though I can’t see him, I know he can feel the determination in me.
I won’t let myself be tempted to flee like a wounded deer.
Not when I know that this is merely a distraction, like a lollypop being dangled in front of a child while the adult knows full well he’s never going to give it to the child, and the child knows he can never reach far enough to grasp it.
I refuse to be that child.
My captor walks some more, and then returns to the door to close it.
His experiment failed.
I control my emotions.
He doesn’t know who he’s up against.
In the darkness I hear him come closer, the only sound being his steady breath and soft steps. He’s still testing me. Seeing if I’ll give in to the fear. Alone with him, the predator, in a cage filled with blackness. But I’m not afraid of the dark.
My soul has already been tainted and defiled. Nothing he does can hurt me. I already went past the breaking point once … and I survived.
“Up.”
The sound of his voice suddenly breaking through the façade makes me take in a breath. It’s familiar and yet so unknown, the way he speaks to me with full authority, resoluteness resounding in every spoken letter, even if there are few.
I crawl up from the ground, slowly, steadily, maintaining my posture. My aching back and pounding head won’t stop me from attempting to keep my dignity as I stand up straight and stare ahead.
My captor’s steps are everywhere, resounding in the darkness like echoes that disappear into the night. He’s confusing me, and I try not to concentrate on the sound, but on my own heartbeat instead.
Suddenly, he’s right in front of me, and the air is sucked out of my lungs. I struggle not to let my breath come out in short gasps, but I won’t let his tactics work on me.
His breathing sounds like that of a bull, short and loud, as if he’s readying for charge.
But he doesn’t move. He just stands there, gazing at me.
“Do you know where you are?” he asks with a low, gruff voice that brings goose bumps to my body.
I compose myself before I answer. “No.”
“Good.”
I can hear a faint smile behind that word, but the second my eyebrows move, he puts his hands on my chest and shoves me. I fall down backwards on the hard floor, bruising my groin.
After a while, he says. “Do you know why you’re here?”
I don’t answer. I refuse to. Why would I? He is only here to intimidate and hurt me. There’s no benefit for me in answering his questions. As a matter of fact, I think he owes me some answers instead.
“Why am I here?” I ask.
He’s silent for a few seconds, and then a smug laugh is dulled by the mask.
“Bold. I like that.”
“Who are you?” I ask, putting emphasis on every word as if they’re the last that’ll come from my mouth.
He muffles another laugh. “Who am I? I am the man who will break you.”
I shake my head, still lying on the floor as if I’m taunting him. Maybe I am. I want him to speak, and for that to happen, I have to be the one asking the questions, not the other way around.
“Where am I?”
“Where you belong,” he growls, and then he takes a step forward, grabs my arm, and pulls me up from the floor.
“Why—”
Smack. His hand hits my cheek, silencing me.
“You do not talk unless spoken to.”
My head is still to the right, as I refuse to look at him. I will not bow to his violence. If he hits me, my body will remain rigid, unmoving. Not an inch of pain will exude from me.
“You may be wondering why you’re here, but you’re forgetting the most important question. What have you done to be here?”
My lip quivers, so I force it to stop. I can’t show weakness. Not now, not ever.
He grabs my chin. “You don’t seem to remember, so let me refresh your memory,” he says. “You stole something. It’s time to give it back. You have twenty-one days to come up with an answer.” He pulls me closer with a pinch. “Lie and I’ll know. Do you understand?”
I nod while blankly staring at his mask. If I’m to obey to survive, I’ll do just that, but no one can take away my pride.
He let’s go of my chin and pushes me away. “It’s time for you to pay back what you owe.”
Fear ripples through my veins. “Pay what back?” I say, taking a step forward.
He shoves me so hard my back hits the wall and the air is ripped from my chest. I sink to my knees against it.
“Don’t think I will go easy on you. Just because I know about you, doesn’t mean I won’t rip you apart if you don’t tell me the truth.”
“What truth?” I gasp. “What do you know about me?”
He turns around, but waits, standing still in the darkness with only the sound of ragged breaths filling the room.
“You tell me,” he says, his voice softer than before, almost as if he himself doesn’t know the reason.
Frowning, I look up at him, and for some reason the way he cracks his knuckles feels so familiar.
But then the feeling immediately disappears as he starts walking toward the door.
“Wait, you haven’t told me why I’m here yet. How am I supposed to know what to tell you?”
I can hear him knock on the door. Then there’s a pause. “Oh … you’ll now soon enough.”
The forewarning brings chills to my skin.
The door opens with a squeak and in comes the blinding light again. It’s so bright, my captor’s clothes almost look pale as snow. But then I realize that’s only because I haven’t seen light in such a long time … and I won’t be seeing it any time soon.
The last words he speaks remain with me for the rest of the day, echoing in my mind over and over again. “Welcome to your own personal hell.”




Author

Clarissa Wild is a New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author, best known for the dark Romance novel Mr. X. Her novels include the Fierce Series, the Delirious Series, and Stalker. She is also a writer of erotic romance such as the Blissful Series, The Billionaire's Bet series, and the Enflamed Series. She is an avid reader and writer of sexy stories about hot men and feisty women. Her other loves include her furry cat friend and learning about different cultures. In her free time she enjoys watching all sorts of movies, reading tons of books and cooking her favorite meals.

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Friday, August 14, 2015

Blog Tour: Bury Me by Tara Sivec





BURY ME
by Tara Sivec 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20890425-bury-me?ac=1

Synopsis:

“All things truly wicked start from innocence.” – Ernest Hemingway 

I hear screams in my head. 

I see blood on my hands.
When I look in the mirror I see a stranger.

How is it that I can remember bits and pieces of my life, but nothing of any importance and nothing that makes any sense? Everything is twisted and nothing is right. I’m choking with every breath I take, suffocating on the unknown. 

Two days ago, everything changed. Two days ago, the people I should trust the most became strangers in my convoluted head. The dreams I have can’t be real. The fleeting memories that whisper through my mind are scary and wrong…they have to be. If they aren’t, I have something much worse to fear than my fractured mind. I need to find out the truth, even if it destroys me. 

I've been told my name is Ravenna Duskin. I’m eighteen years old and I live in a prison…

Excerpt:

Before I can command my feet to move toward the shape—the safer of the two evils—I hear another sound in the opposite direction and foolishly turn my head. Something heavy and solid crashes against my skull and I feel myself falling. Darkness descends over me one last time, covering my eyes, clogging my ears and stealing the breath from my lungs. Nothing will ever be the same again.
Nothing will ever be good again.

It will all be bad.

Bad

Bad

Bad.




Author Profile:

Tara Sivec is a USA Today best-selling author, wife, mother, chauffeur, maid, short-order cook, baby-sitter, and sarcasm expert. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two children and looks forward to the day when they all three of them become adults and move out.

After working in the brokerage business for fourteen years, Tara decided to pick up a pen and write instead of shoving it in her eye out of boredom. She is the author of the Playing with Fire series and the Chocolate Lovers series. Her novel Seduction and Snacks won first place in the Indie Romance Convention Reader’s Choice Awards 2013 for Best Indie First Book.

In her spare time, Tara loves to dream about all of the baking she’ll do and naps she’ll take when she ever gets spare time.

Tara also writes under the pen name T.E. Sivec. Check out the page for T.E. Sivec for more information.







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